Part 11 - Public Question Time Procedures

• At Council Meetings (See also Council Procedure Rule 10)
• At Overview and Scrutiny
• Committee Meetings
• At Cabinet Meetings

Public Questions at Council Meetings

THE SCHEME

Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council believes that Local Government should be as open and accessible as possible. As part of its aim to achieve this objective, the Council’s Constitution gives members of the public the opportunity to ask questions of Members of the Cabinet at ordinary meetings of the Council.

Questions can be asked irrespective of whether the matters in question are on the agenda for the meeting. However, the items raised should relate to matters of policy or principle, rather than to private or personal issues. If you have a personal question and you either have been unable to get an answer from the relevant Council Service Section or else you are not happy with the answer provided you are encouraged to make a formal complaint or contact your Local Councillor with the details. Information leaflets about the Council’s formal complaint procedure and Local Councillors’ contact details are available from the Council’s main offices.

Advance notice must be given of questions. A question may only be asked of a Member of the Cabinet at ordinary meetings of the Council if it has been delivered to the Council Manager either in writing or by electronic mail by midday three clear working days before the day of the Council meeting. Each questioner must give their name and address.

THE RULES

To help meetings run smoothly and enable as many people as possible to participate, the following rules will govern the period in which questions can be put. These are set out as follows:

1.  Question time will be limited to ordinary meetings of the Council.

2.  A question may only be asked if notice has been given by delivering it in writing or by electronic mail to the Council Manager no later than midday three clear working days before the day of the meeting. Each question must give the name and address of the questioner.

3.  No person may submit more than two questions at any one meeting and no more than two such questions may be asked on behalf of one organisation.

4.  The Council Manager may reject a question if it:

• is not about a matter for which the Council has a responsibility or which affects the borough;
• is defamatory, frivolous or offensive;
• is substantially the same as a question which has been put at a meeting of the Council in the past six months; or
• requires the disclosure of confidential or exempt information.

5.  The Council Manager will enter each question in a register open to public inspection and will, immediately on receipt, send a copy of the question to the Member of the Cabinet to whom it is to be put. In addition, copies of questions will be circulated to all Members of the Council and made available to the public attending the meeting. If any questions are rejected then the reasons for rejection will be entered in the register.

6.  The order in which questions are put at a meeting will be the order in which they were received by the Council Manager, except that the Mayor may group together similar questions.

7.  The Mayor will invite the questioner to put the question to a Member of the Cabinet. If a questioner who has submitted a written question is unable to be present, they may ask the Mayor to put the question on their behalf. The Mayor may ask the question on the questioner’s behalf, indicate that a written reply will be given or decide, in the absence of the questioner, that the question will not be dealt with.

8.  The appropriate Member shall answer the question immediately after it is put. The total time allocated to questions and answers shall not exceed 15 minutes unless the Mayor in his/her discretion extends that time for the purpose of answering the last question put before the expiry of such period of 15 minutes.

9.  A questioner who has put a question in person at a meeting may also put one supplementary question without notice to the Member replying to his or her original question. A supplementary question must arise directly out of the original question or the reply. The Mayor may reject a supplementary question on any of the grounds in Rule (4) above.

10. Unless the Mayor decides otherwise, no discussion will take place on any question, but any Member of the Council may move that a matter raised by a question be referred to the Cabinet or the appropriate Committee or Sub-Committee. Once seconded, such a motion will be voted on without discussion.

11.Any question which cannot be dealt with during public question time, either because of lack of time or because of the non-attendance of the Member of the Cabinet to whom it was to be put, will be dealt with by a written answer.

Questions to Overview and Scrutiny Committee Meetings

For many years, members of the public have been able to attend meetings of this and other Councils to listen to the debates. In addition, they have been able to make representations either through elected Councillors or Council employees. However, Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council believes that Local Government should be as open and accessible as possible. As part of its aim to achieve this objective, the Council has introduced a scheme which enables its customers to ask questions or make a statement at meetings of Overview and Scrutiny Committees on matters relating to Council business or local concern.

Questions can be asked and statements made irrespective of whether the matters in question are on the agenda for the meeting. However, the items raised should relate to matters of policy or principle, rather than to private or personal issues. If you have a personal question and you either have been unable to get an answer from the relevant Council Service Section or else you are not happy with the answer provided, you are encouraged to make a formal complaint or contact your Local Councillor with the details. Information leaflets about the Council's formal complaint procedure and Local Councillors' contact details are available from the Council's main offices.

Advance notice need not be given of questions and statements. However, priority will be given to questions and statements of which advance notice has been given. Provided five clear days' written notice is given (excluding Saturdays and Sundays and the day of the meeting), an answer will be guaranteed to a question – either orally at the meeting, or in writing within 5 days after the meeting (if time does not allow an oral answer to be given).

To help meetings run smoothly and enable as many people as possible to participate, the following rules will govern the period in which questions and statements can be put. These are set out as follows:

(1)  Question time will be limited to the Overview and Scrutiny Committees appointed by the Council.

(2) A maximum period of 15 minutes will be set aside for all questions/statements and answers at the start of each Committee meeting. The Chairman may at his/her discretion extend that time for the purpose of answering the last question put before the expiry of the 15 minutes.

(3) Questions and statements which do not receive a response through lack of time will be given a written reply.

(4) If the number of questions and statements involved appear likely to exceed the time available, the Chairman will decide the order in which the questions and statements can be taken and who will be permitted to speak. However, priority will be given to questions and statements of which notice has been given in advance of the day of the meeting.

(5)  Every question shall be put and answered and each statement made without discussion although the Chairman may permit the questioner to ask a supplementary question. The Chairman will decide who answers the questions or otherwise makes comments on behalf of the Committee.

(6)  The Chairman will have the right to stop persons from speaking at any time if he/she considers the questions and statements to be defamatory, improper or outside the duties and responsibilities of the Committee. The Chairman will also have discretion in handling the question period and his/her discretion will be final on all matters.

(7)  If you want to ask a question or make a statement, you must attend the relevant meeting and arrive at least 10 minutes before the starting time, so that the Chairman knows you are present and ready to ask your question or make your statement.

Please make yourself known to the Chairman or one of the Officers.

(8)  You need not give notice of your question or statement in advance of the date of the meeting, but you must complete the appropriate form and hand it to the Chairman or a member of staff immediately prior to the start of the meeting. It is important to include your name and address on the form in case it is necessary to send you a written reply.

(9)  Groups of residents or members of organisations should nominate a representative to present the views of the group/organisation.

(10)  Questions cannot be asked/statements made in respect of:

• Individual planning matters

• Items relating to the performance or employment of Council employees

• Matters in respect of which a Right of Appeal or Review exists